In Need of Hope
by ThatTastyCheesecake
Summary: POST DD SEASON 2: One Shot: Foggy tells Matt about the troubled P.I. Jessica Jones. Daredevil decides to pay her a visit.
**This is going to be a one-shot story set after Daredevil season 2 and Jessica Jones season 1. Just finished watching DD season 2 and it was** ** _amazing!_** **Will contain some minor DD S2 spoilers but nothing too major. Also JJ S1 spoilers, if you haven't seen it. If not, then what are you doing with your life? I've been waiting for some DD/JJ crossovers but there barely seems to be any right now, so I thought I'd give it a go. If this turns out okay I might write a longer, story driven crossover fic if I can think of any good ideas…we'll see…**

* * *

 ** _MATT POV:_**

Matthew Murdock was perched atop the rooftop…listening. He'd been out for an hour or so now, patrolling the city. His city. He was listening out for someone in particular who had caught his attention as of late. Just as he got up to move to a different spot, he paused, his body becoming rigid as he found his target.

"Jessica Jones!" A deep masculine voice hissed. "I should have known that that woman would hire a private investigator on me! I'm going to have to have a word with her when I get back."

"You will not touch your wife again!" A woman replied, whom Matt assumed was Jessica. "You will also keep her out of your criminal dealings from now on!" She was angry. he could sense that, even from this distance. "I've got enough evidence to put you and your buddies away for a _very_ long time!"

"Maybe you do, but you're not gonna get the chance, sweetheart!" Matthew felt Jessica cringe at the name. He tried to read the man, finding that his heart rate was slowing. He was relaxing? That couldn't be right. Matt paused once more, his heightened senses picking up on the group of thugs who were approaching Jessica, lying in wait to ambush the P.I.

They were situated in an alleyway two blocks from him. He had to move fast if he was going to stop them.

* * *

 ** _JESSICA POV:_**

David Burns. This man was infuriating. Not only did he beat on his wife, but he regularly partook in gang warfare, hurting innocents in the process. Not that she cared. But now, just to top everything off, the man had just threatened her. _Her_! Jessica didn't know whether to be annoyed or feel sorry for him. He thought that just because he had heard of her that he knew her. He was dead wrong.

She took a step forward, halting suddenly as a grin split across his face. Was he insane? Jessica had gotten good at reading people, it kind of came with her job, but she was having trouble figuring this guy out. Her ears picked up on the scraping of a shoe behind her. She turned to see thug with a metal bat rushing her, preparing to swing. She pulled her arms up in front of her face defensively, hoping that her strength would prevent them from being broken, but the impending impact never came.

A red coloured baton shot from above, striking the criminal in the head, instantly knocking them out cold. Jessica watched, lowering her arms slightly as the baton rolled across the floor, stopping at her feet. She caught movement out of the corner of her vision, looking up to see a crimson-clad figure leaping off of the rooftop, flipping off of the fire escape to land in the middle of the group of thugs before her. It was the Devil of Hell's Kitchen.

She spectated as Daredevil ripped through the group, taking the thugs down one by one as they attempted a counter attack. He ploughed through them, fighting off enemies from all sides. Jessica was awed by the way he fended them off, it was as if he could sense what they were doing behind him as well as in front. If they had actually been organised then he might have been in serious trouble. Luckily for him that wasn't the case.

Jessica heard movement behind her once more, turning back to see David running at her, knife in hand. She noticed a bag of trash leant on the wall beside her, kicking it with superhuman force into her attacker, sending him to the floor. She closed the distance between them, grabbing him by the neck and slamming him against the wall, his feet leaving the ground.

A gunshot rang out. Jessica shot a glance over to see a thug fall to the floor, firing their gun in panic, missing every shot, their arm shaking too much with fear. Daredevil instantly swept his leg in a forward arc, flinging the guys gun from his hand whilst simultaneously knocking him unconscious, leaving only a couple of enemies remaining.

David struggled, bringing her attention back to him as he tried to break from her grasp. She tightened her grip to the point of suffocation.

"When you wake up sunshine, I want you to turn yourself over to the police." She told him, her voice menacingly low. "If I find out that you haven't, then I promise that every cop in this city will know of you and what you do. And you'd better hope that they get to you first, because the next time we meet…I won't be so gentle…"

She slammed the man's head against the wall, which made a sickening crunch as he fell to the floor, unconscious. She might have overdone it a bit, she thought, a slight prick of worry entering her mind. It didn't matter. He deserved everything that he got.

Jessica watched as the Devil of Hell's Kitchen dispatched the last of the thugs, twirling his body through the air to land a powerful kick to the guy's head, rendering him immobile. Daredevil took a quick breather, regaining his footing before strolling over to her, retrieving his baton along the way, sheathing it in the holster on his leg.

"I guess I owe you thanks for the assist." Jessica told him as he reached her, noting the way in which he looked at her, tilting his head slightly as if he wasn't looking at her, but through her. It unnerved her slightly.

"Don't mention it." He replied, his voice gruff yet soft. He paused before continuing. "I've…been looking for you." She tensed. He clearly noticed. "Not to fight you!" He added quickly. "I wanted to talk! I thought…I thought it would do us both good."

Jessica was confused. The Devil of Hell's Kitchen wanted to talk with her. What could they possibly talk about that would benefit them both? He seemed to sense her confusion. It unsettled her. He could read her like a book. Usually she'd be able to do the same, but his mask made it hard to tell what he was thinking.

"I was going to pop by your office, but I didn't think that you'd take too kindly to the Devil of Hell's Kitchen showing up out of the blue." He informed her. He took a deep breath. "Why don't we go somewhere else? If you'll just give me a chance to explain, I promise that I can help you. And if you decide that you don't want my help, then I'll leave. Simple as that."

Jessica was static, considering his strange request. She didn't trust him. Hell, she didn't trust anyone. But she couldn't find any reason to hint that he was lying. Maybe he could help her. He wasn't exactly your average guy. And he had just saved her ass. Daredevil waited patiently as she made her decision. She'd hear him out, she thought, and if he was full of shit then she would kick him out, forcefully if she had to. She didn't exactly have a lot to loose.

" _Fine_." She spat, going against her better judgement. "But try anything, and I will personally kick your ass, and believe me when I say that I am _more_ than capable of doing so!"

* * *

 ** _MATT POV_** **:**

Matt climbed in through Jessica's window, entering her office to find the woman in question sat at her desk, cracking open a bottle. Whiskey. The smell hit his heightened senses instantly, causing him to frown slightly. He had heard that she was an alcoholic, he guessed.

Jessica had requested that he entered through the window, unwilling to be seen walking through her building with him in full Daredevil gear. He couldn't say he blamed her.

Foggy had told him about P.I. The man was worried. He had heard a lot about Jessica Jones from his new employment at Hogarth's company. Foggy had even had the experience of meeting her once when she came in, begrudgingly getting Hogarth's help on a case.

Jessica sat before him, no doubt staring at him with an impatient look upon her face. "Well…are you going to tell me why you're here or am I going to be kicking you out sooner I thought?"

"I want to help you. I have a friend who…who mentioned you…and what you do. He told me how troubled you were. How you suffer from PTSD. How you keep everything bottled up inside of you." He paused, trying to choose his next words carefully. He could sense her irritation already. This wasn't going to be easy. "Let me help you. I've heard about some of the stuff that you've been through. More than anyone should ever have to go through. And I'm sure that I can relate, no matter how slightly, to some of it. I can…"

"What?! You want me to open up to you?!" She intercut, a sarcastic laugh exiting from her mouth as her pulse rose. "What are you?! Some sort of therapist?! You think you can fix me?!" He could sense her getting more worked up by the second, a bundle of emotion swirling inside of her. "What makes you care?!"

Matt paused, giving her a moment to compose herself before answering. "Because I know what it's like. To feel alone. Cut off from the rest of the world because you're different." His voice was gentle as he opened up to her, deciding to give a little in the hopes of gaining her trust. "You feel like you have no one to talk to. No one who understands, at least. I know that you don't know me, and that I don't know you, but you can't keep your emotions bottled up forever, or they're going to consume you. Believe me, I know."

Jessica took a deep breath, slowly getting to her feet to face him. Matt sensed a slight glimmer of hope coming from her. There was a chance. He didn't quite understand why he was so keen to help this woman. Sure, she was different like him. And she had been through a lot. But that didn't change the fact that they were strangers to each other. A fact that Jessica was clearly aware of.

"That's great and all…" She started, the hope he had sensed from her being extinguished. "…But as you said, I don't know you. And whatever you may think, you don't know me! You can't expect us to simply trust each other like that, can you?"

Matt sighed, realising that he only had one more chance to convince her. But it was risky. If he did it then he would have nothing left. But then again he had the possibility of a lot to gain.

"You're right…" Matt told her gently, hesitating for a second, before reaching up to remove his helmet. "…Then let us start over. My name is Matthew Murdock, and I am the Devil of Hell's Kitchen…"

* * *

 ** _JESSICA POV_** **:**

"Matt Murdock…as in the lawyer? The man who protects people with the law? You've got to admit that's pretty ironic." Jessica told him, some of her tension depleting. She'd heard about this guy, being one of the lawyers who had helped prosecute Wilson Fisk. She paused for a second, remembering a certain detail about him. "Aren't you, you know…blind?"

The Devil of Hell's Kitchen chuckled slightly at this, his eyes unfocused, staring straight through her. "Yeah…I am…as I said, I can relate to you to some extent…more than you realise, at least…" He trailed off, clearly unsure of what to say next. She found it much easier to read him without his mask on.

She felt her defences caving slightly. This man had trusted her with his biggest secret. A man that she barely knew. Someone who had been willing to jump into danger without a moment's hesitation to help her. Maybe he was right. Maybe they could help each other…

"Do you ever…" She trailed off for a second, social skills had never been her strong point. "…Do you ever find yourself feeling hopeless? Like the entire worlds out to get you and you can't possibly hold them all off?" Her voice cracked slightly, emotions flooding forth as her strong persona cracked. "Like it's only a matter of time before you get crushed under the weight of all the shit going on, and you won't have the strength to keep your head afloat?"

Murdock took a moment to consider her questions, moving to sit in the chair on the opposite side of her desk. "I do. All the time. The past year has been a rollercoaster for me…" He chuckled. "I guess my life always has been. But that's why I keep fighting. So no one else has to experience the things I have. So others can sleep easy in their beds at night, blissfully unaware of the darkness that the world has to offer."

"Maybe…but at what cost?" Jessica returned to her seat, her eyes locked to Matthew's, unsure as to whether he was looking back at her or not. "Being a hero comes at a price. It screws you up…there's a reason I don't do it anymore…"

"What you were doing tonight seemed pretty heroic to me." He said, unfocused eyes softening. "You didn't have to confront that guy yourself. You could have just handed over the evidence and hoped for the best."

"Well…I guess we're both pretty screwed up then…"

"I guess we are…"

They both fell into a comfortable silence, the ice finally broken between them. Jessica felt relieved, as if the burden of her failures had been lifted slightly, shared with a likewise acquaintance. After a little while, Matt spoke.

"What made you stop?"

"Stop what?"

"Being a hero?"

Jessica laughed to herself bitterly. "I was never a hero. There was a time where I tried…I tried to go out there and…and make a difference. It didn't work. I made more of mess than I cleaned up. The only thing I managed to do was draw the attention of some dangerous guy who…who…" She couldn't bring herself to continue.

"This wouldn't be this Killgrave guy that I heard about?" Matt asked, gently pushing her.

"Yeah…that's the one. I guess that's where my life truly got screwed up. It went in a downwards spiral from there…" She took a swig of her drink, the alcohol soothing her slightly. "I'm not going into specifics, but it was bad. I've never managed to recover from that. And I never will. Even with him gone…"

"I understand. There are some things that you can never recover from. No matter how hard you try." Matthew told her, his voice edged with understanding. "Maybe it can't get better but you can't let that stop you from living. Take it from a guy who pushed his friends away to keep going as Daredevil…you can't go on without someone to fight for. Whether that person is yourself or someone close to you, you need to hold onto something. Someone to represent your hope. Otherwise there's no point."

Jessica smiled for the first time this evening. "You sound just like Trish."

"I'll take that as a compliment." Matt said, returning her smile. They fell back into silence, both feeling comforted by the others presence. Matthew slowly got up out of his seat, manoeuvring himself towards the window, preparing to leave. Jessica felt a slight twinge of disappointment. "I guess that's enough deep talk for one night, but I meant what I said before." He told her. "I can help you Jessica. If you ever need support, or even just someone who understands to talk to, I'll be there."

She paused, smiling internally at the thought. "The same thing goes for you. But the next time we meet…you're telling me how a blind man can do the kind of shit that you do."

"Ahhhhhh! Jessica Jones. Revealing my biggest secret?" He chortled to himself, a grin entering his face. "You drive a hard bargain…" She stared at him as he climbed onto the window ledge, until he finally gave in. "Alright, but two can play at that game. You'll have to tell me how you got your powers too. And if you tell me that it was from an accident with some sort of unknown chemicals, then I will be calling you out on your bullshit!"

Jessica watched as Daredevil back-flipped out of the window, a smile of her own appearing on her face. Maybe Matt was right. Maybe there was hope for her after all…

* * *

 **Just a Note or Two:**

 **-Matt/Jessica are now bff's! Haha not really but maybe with time…**

 **-It's weird writing in a Matt POV, as you can't really write anything too visual.**

 **-I was just going to have Matt going to Jessica's office/home and offering to talk to her there, but I didn't think that Jessica would take too kindly to that, and would have instantly rejected him. I feel like this way she at least felt that she owed him slightly, giving her a reason to hear him and out and trust him slightly.**

 **-I felt like this could be the start of a strong friendship between the two of them. I imagine them regularly meeting up for drinks as they talk over what they've been through recently. The two of them being there for each other, as two individuals that could relate to and understand what the other is going through. And maybe Matt eventually training Jessica to fight properly down the line.**


End file.
